Trout was a first round pick by the Angels in the 2009 MLB draft, and made a brief major league appearance in 2011. He became a regular player for the Angels the subsequent season, and unanimously won the 2012 AL Rookie of the Year Award. Trout finished second in AL MVP voting in 2012 and 2013, before winning the award in 2014, along with the 2014 AL Hank Aaron Award. Trout is under contract with the Angels until the end of the 2020 season.

Posey grew up in Leesburg, Georgia. He played four sports in high school; when playing baseball, he excelled at hitting and pitching. He attended Florida State University, where he began playing the catcher position. He won the Golden Spikes Award in 2008 and was selected by the Giants with the fifth overall pick in the 2008 Major League Baseball Draft. Posey made his major league debut on September 11, 2009. After beginning the 2010 season in the minor leagues, he was called back up to the major leagues in May. He played first base when he came up, but became the Giants’ regular catcher at the end of June.

Posey returned from his injury in 2012 and posted a .336 batting average to win the 2012 NL batting title. He became the second San Francisco Giant to win the batting title and was named the NL Most Valuable Player for 2012. He won his second World Series that year as the Giants swept the Detroit Tigers in four games. On March 29, 2013, Posey signed a 9-year contract extension worth $167 million, a record in sum and in length for a player with his level of experience.[2] He won his third World Series the following year as the Giants defeated the Kansas City Royals.

Cabrera was signed in 1999 as an amateur free agent by the Florida Marlins, and progressed through their minor league system. He made his MLB debut in mid-2003 at the age of 20, and contributed to the Marlins’ World Series success later that year. Cabrera was a regular player for the Marlins over the next four seasons before being traded to the Detroit Tigers in late 2007. In 2012, Cabrera became the first player since 1967 to win the batting Triple Crown, leading the AL with a .330 batting average, 44 home runs, and 139 RBI, earning him the AL MVP award that year. In 2013 Cabrera improved on the previous year’s batting performance, and received another AL MVP award.

Cabrera is widely regarded to be one of the best pure hitters in baseball, combining great power with a high batting average and walk rate, along with a lowstrikeout percentage. He has hit 30 or more home runs during nine separate seasons, has driven in over 100 runs in eleven consecutive seasons, and has a career .320 batting average. Cabrera has been praised for hitting many line drives and fly balls whilst maintaining a low pop-up rate, hitting the ball to all fields, and for his notable ability to drive inside pitches for home runs.

Tulowitzki’s arm, range and instincts at shortstop are highly regarded. Furthermore, his size, ability and leadership skills have garnered him comparisons to Cal Ripken, Jr., Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter.[1][2] Nevertheless, he is often prone to injuries as he has averaged just 117 games played per season since his rookie campaign in 2007.[3]

Kershaw was drafted seventh overall in the 2006 MLB Draft. He worked his way through the Dodgers’ farm system in just one full season, and reached the majors at 20 years old. When he debuted in 2008, he was the youngest player in MLB, a title he held for one full year. In 2011, he won the pitching Triple Crown and the National LeagueCy Young Award, becoming the youngest pitcher to accomplish either of these feats since Dwight Gooden in 1985. Kershaw pitched a no-hitter on June 18, 2014, becoming the 22nd Dodger to do so. Being a left-handed strikeout pitcher and playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Kershaw has often been compared to Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax.[2][3][4] He became the first pitcher in history to lead MLB in ERA for four consecutive years when he did so in the 2011 through 2014 seasons.[5]

Off the field, Kershaw is an active participant in volunteer work. He and his wife, Ellen, launched “Kershaw’s Challenge” and wrote the book Arise to raise money to build an orphanage in Zambia. He has been honored with the Roberto Clemente Award and the Branch Rickey Award for his humanitarian work.

José Carlos Altuve (born May 6, 1990) is a Venezuelan professional baseballsecond baseman for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB). Altuve made his major league debut in July 2011. As of 2014, he is the shortest active MLB player at 5 feet 5 inches (1.65 m). Altuve’s short stature has inspired an unofficial unit of measure, with baseball broadcasters asking “how many Altuve’s” a home run has traveled.

Altuve has been selected to two All-Star Games. In 2014, he became the first player in over 80 years to reach 130 hits and 40 stolen bases before the All-Star Game. That same season he became the first Astro to win the batting title after hitting .341.

McCutchen was drafted by the Pirates in the first round (11th overall) of the 2005 MLB Draft. He made his MLB debut in 2009. In 2012, he led the National League (NL) in hits (194), was the NL runner-up in batting average (.327), and was a NL Gold Glove winner. He was an All-Star for four seasons, and was the NL Most Valuable Player in 2013. McCutchen has also been signed a 6 year contract at a salary of $51.50 million.

Fielder is a five-time All-Star and was previously the iron man leader for consecutive games played with 547 consecutive games. The streak ended in May 2014 when Fielder underwent season-ending neck surgery. He holds the Brewers’ team record for home runs in a season, and is the league’s youngest player to hit 50 home runs in a season.[1] He became the first Brewer to win the Home Run Derby, defeating Nelson Cruz in the final round of the 2009 derby. He also won the 2012 derby, joining Ken Griffey, Jr. and Yoenis Cespedes as the only players to win more than one derby and becoming the first player to win the Derby as both an American League and a National League All-Star.[2]

Fielder is the son of former MLB first baseman Cecil Fielder. Prince and Cecil Fielder are the only father-son combination to each hit 50 MLB home runs in a season.